The world's first thinking machine has been created -- not by a university or a research organization, but by a brilliant iconoclast working on a British Caribbean island and funded by a shadowy Japanese group descended from the ancient samurai class. A secret group inside the American government co-opts a young NSA signals intelligence agent to work with its own agents in order to obtain the machine from the Japanese. But they aren't the only ones interested in stealing the thinking machine: a terrorist cell from Karranh mounts an attack against the Caribbean island, just as it becomes clear...

An evil queen holds the land of Palindor increasingly in her sway. The only creatures who might have stood up to her power, the Holy Gnomes, are long dead, killed by a suspicious fire that swept through the Holy Barrows of Perendeth. But, unknown to everyone, two young gnomes escaped the fire. Now, after years of waiting, the High Lord Olvensar visits the gnomes and tells them it is time to topple the queen. Aided by a young woman from another world, they set out to find the source of the queen's growing power and thwart her evil designs while there is still time. Dark knights, spies,...

In this second book about the land of Palindor, Malthazzar's devious general, Shadow, pits Michael against his mother, the High Queen Catherine, as Reglandor invades the Third Land. Each believing that the other is evil, Catherine and Michael are led toward their inevitable confrontation, while behind the scenes Malthazzar gloats as his revenge against Catherine unfolds. Many of the characters from the first book return. Some, like Drefynt and the dablik, help Catherine's cause; others, like the Dark Knights, frustrate it. We meet new heroes, such as the valiant elves Anderskerrin and Hervan,...

In this third book set in the Three Lands of Abuscan, Catherine returns to Palindor along with her middle-aged son Michael and her teenaged grand-daughter, Diana. The book intertwines the stories of Catherine, Michael and Diana, along with many other characters from the earlier books, as well as several new ones. For the first time we meet Phendric, the grandson of Drefynt, of whom it was prophesied long ago that he would be "great and saving," and Toldwyn, long dead and now brought back to face a final challenge in the dungeons of the castle in Carn Toldwyn. The story takes place not only in...

Born in South Dakota and nurtured in a Yorkshire village, Penny Smith kept a detailed record of her thoughts and the daily events that impacted her from the age of eleven until her death. A poet, sharp-eyed observer, and seeker for the truth behind the meaning of a human life, she struggled with the issues surrounding success and failure, hope and despair, trust and betrayal - and, ultimately, death. This is her story, in her words.

In the ski resort of Pinetree, Colorado, a middle-aged lawyer collapses and dies. At first, the explanation seems obvious. There are just a couple of loose ends that don't quite make sense. But the more the police and his next of kin try to build a picture of how Matthew Chambers died, the more it seems like something is seriously wrong somewhere.